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Toronto Battared by storm, flooding...

Hundreds of thousands of residents are without power in the Greater Toronto Area and streets are flooded with rainwater, as the city remains under a severe thunderstorm warning Monday evening.

As much as 90 millimetres of rain fell on the city in just a few hours, beginning at 4 p.m. local time, stranding commuters in cars, buses and subway trains as the busy rush hour was getting underway.

Toronto Hydro reported shortly before 8 p.m. local time that approximately 300,000 residents are without power across the city. The agency advised residents to call 416-542-8000 to report an outage.

In Mississauga, to the west, 80 per cent of the city’s 700,000 residents are without power, according to Enersource.

Subway service is shutfrom St. Clair West to Downsview Station, from Osgoode to Bloor Station, from Lawrence to Finch Station, from Kipling to Ossington Station, and on the Sheppard line.

Power outages trapped some subway trains in tunnels until commuters could be rescued.

Shuttle buses are running, but are struggling to drive through the flooded streets and around abandoned vehicles, according to TTC communications director Brad Ross.

Residents bombarded social media sites with images of several feet of water on sidewalks and streets, under bridges, in parking lots and even on TTC buses. Images showed cars submerged in rainwater that were left abandoned on major roadways.

Flooding closed the Don Valley Parkway, the city’s main north-south artery, between Highway 401 and the Gardiner Expressway.

Jee Yun Lee, anchor for 24-hour news station CP24, remained stuck on the DVP for several hours Monday evening, caught in the flooding on her way to work.

The Don River, which runs parallel to the highway, had overflowed and flooded onto the lanes.

At first drivers were calm, she said, “and then there was a sense of panic, the water’s creeping up, we’ve got to turn around.”

Drivers managed to turn their vehicles around, she said, but were stuck in a backlog of cars to exit the highway.

Toronto Police issued a news release Monday evening “advising the public to remain in their homes, avoid underpasses and low-lying areas. If in a stalled vehicle, please remain in your vehicle if possible until help arrives.”

Police also said that 911 operators are experiencing a high volume of calls, and urged residents to “please remain on the line and wait for a call-taker.”

According to Environment Canada, there is a slow moving cluster of thunderstorms with “very heavy downpours capable of producing localized flash flooding” hitting the Greater Toronto area. The line of thunderstorms has already passed over the Mississauga and Brampton regions, and is slowly moving eastward.

Total rainfall surpassed 90 millimetres in some areas, the agency said, and is expected to exceed 100 mm before the rainfall tapers off later this evening.

The weather agency is warning motorists to avoid driving through water on roads.

“Even shallow fast moving water across a road can sweep a vehicle away. Watch for possible washouts near rivers, creeks and culverts.”

The storm cancelled all flights out of Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport, and led to numerous delays and cancellations at Pearson International Airport.

In Toronto, Twitter users across the city expressed shock as dark clouds suddenly blackened the skyline and it began to pour at approximately 4:30 p.m.

“Saw a mercedes300 FULLY submerged in a storm ditch in the side of the road by Pearson Airport,” one user tweeted.

“Loving the rain but no power and can’t find a flashlight to do work,” tweeted another.

Mayor Rob Ford also took to Twitter to warn residents to be careful as they make their way home.

“Be advised that we are experiencing heavy rain that may cause flooding across the City. Staff are monitoring the situation very closely,” read a tweet on the mayor’s official account.

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